


When Do I Not See You?

by PonderingTheUniverse17



Series: Love and Space Dust [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Post-Episode: s09e02 The Witch's Familiar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 06:06:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6412039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PonderingTheUniverse17/pseuds/PonderingTheUniverse17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after "The Witch's Familiar." In the aftermath of Skaro, the Doctor and Clara bare the hidden scars of their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Do I Not See You?

_Make it up to me._

He’d tried the moment they stepped back into the TARDIS, from kissing her wounds on her forehead to offering her the best wine in the galaxy. However, nothing appeared to work. There was an emptiness in her eyes that wouldn’t go away. _Maybe she’s just tired_ , he thought. They didn’t speak as he led her to their bedroom.

Within the walls of the bedroom, the Doctor found the silence to be too much. After settling in under the covers, Clara was unusually quiet next to him. Uneasiness grew in the pit of his stomach. She turned away from him and faced the wall, taking in a sharp breath as noiselessly as she could.

“Clara?” He whispered.

“Hm?”

“Are you- is everything ok?”

 _Stupid, stupid Doctor. Why would she be ok?_ It had merely been a few hours since he almost killed her. _Almost, nearly_. He couldn’t hate himself more if he tried.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice breaking. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I almost killed you today,” he said.

“Almost means you didn’t.”

“Almost is too close for comfort,” he muttered. She turned over to face him.

“No,” she said. “You don’t get to blame yourself for it.” Her cheeks were wet with the fresh tears that rolled down them. His body screamed at him to wipe them away, but he felt like the smallest touch would break her.

“There’s no one else to blame for what happened today.”

“Yes, there is,” she said. “I chose to follow you and listen to Missy.”

“Both of which were mistakes.”

“Nothing with you is ever a mistake.”

He huffed at her words. He couldn’t believe that she thought it. She shot him a glare that silenced him before he could let out another sound.

“What was that for?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he said. “It’s just that I can’t believe you don’t think marrying me was a mistake.”

“Why would it be?”

“I’m a daft old man in an ancient blue box.”

“And your point is?”

“I’m daft. And an old man.”

“You idiot,” she said, moving close enough to him so their foreheads could touch. “Those are a couple of reasons why I married you.”

“Are they?” He asked, his eyebrows raised quizzically.

“Yes.”

A smile finally broke across her face, causing the uneasiness in his stomach to fade. Sitting up, he gently took her left hand into his and began kissing each and every one of her fingers. He was tender with every brush against her skin. It was so fragile and soft. _So human_. Too human to be Dalek. It wasn’t cold and empty like a Dalek’s casing. No, it wasn’t like that at all. He could feel the energy of every cell in her body, the warmth of her blood from her beating heart to the veins that flowed through her fingers. She sparked with life.

“Did you think part of you knew I was in the Dalek all along?” she asked. He lifted his lips from her ring finger, but never released her hand from his.

“I’d know you anywhere,” he said, playing with the ring on her finger. “Besides, it wasn’t the first time she’d lied to me.”

“We’ll find Gallifrey,” she said. She sat up and rested her head on his shoulder. Her eyes reached his. Emptiness no longer filled those eyes of hers. Instead, they were full of hope. “Together.”

“And I’ll always see you, no matter where you are and everywhere I go.”

“If you say so.”

 _Oh, Clara,_ he thought _._

_When do I not see you?_


End file.
